


Santa’s Helper

by Multiple_Universes



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Single Parents, Smut, kindergarten teacher Victor Nikiforov, single father Katsuki Yuuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-25 01:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17112224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multiple_Universes/pseuds/Multiple_Universes
Summary: Christmas is a time for magic and miracles. Once Yuuri Katsuki believed that, but not anymore, not since his wife walked out on him and their twins around Christmas. But this year the universe has a surprise for Yuuri Katsuki – the very handsome, definitely single and extremely good with kids Victor Nikiforov.





	Santa’s Helper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ladyofthefl0wers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyofthefl0wers/gifts).



> To my dear friend Ladyofthefl0wers, who is a great friend and helped me get through all my writing madness this year! I hope 2019 brings you lots of good things!
> 
> And to all of you for keeping me going!!

The mall was packed. People went from store to store, searching for gifts for everyone on their list. Every chair in the food court was claimed by someone who was eating so they could get more energy for more shopping. Each checkout desk had a long lineup in front of it. Somewhere in their midst Yuuri Katsuki felt like a man running out of all his patience.

His two little boys, the twins Minami and Kenjirou, were throwing a fit. First they’d demanded to see Santa (which, in that mall, meant taking a picture with him) and now they were fighting over which of them would get to go first.

“Excited to see Santa?” another person cut in and the twins went silent long enough to give the speaker a cool look.

Yuuri looked as well.

The speaker was in a big red Santa hat with fake elf ears over his real ones. He had a sweater with “Santa’s helper” written on the front and a big grin on his face that went from ear to ear.

“Santa won’t see boys who don’t behave themselves,” he told them. “Those boys end up on the naughty list, especially if they’re giving others a hard time.”

The twins continued to stare unblinkingly.

“Now, do you boys want a nice, big present each for Christmas, or would you rather have coal?” he asked looking between the two of them.

They knew the answer to this one. “Big present!” both boys exclaimed at once, making the man laugh.

“When it’s your turn you can each sit on Santa’s knee,” he promised. “Lucky he’s got two, right?”

They nodded.

“You’re not bad boys, are you?” he said and crouched down to put his arms around them. “You’ve been good all year and you always help your…” here his glance travelled uncertainly up and a faint blush appeared on his cheeks as he took Yuuri in from his feet up to his face.

“Dad,” Yuuri mouthed.

The man’s face fell as if he was just told that Christmas was cancelled. Then he looked at each of the boys and the smile returned to his face, but Yuuri could see that it wasn’t the same. “You help your father out, don’t you?”

“Yeah! Lots and lots!” Minami insisted. “We always help! We clean our rooms and stuff!”

He gave a nod of approval.

“Please tell Santa that we’re not bad!” Kenjirou piped up. “We love our father very much!”

Yuuri felt a blush creep up to his cheeks.

“And what about your mother?” the man asked. “I’m sure you love her too!”

They’d gotten so carried away that they’d all completely forgotten where they were or what they’d been doing. The reminder chose that moment to drop in on them.

“Next!” a voice called out and Yuuri realized that was them.

“Come on, Minami, Kenjirou,” he pulled them away from the stranger and led them towards Santa. “It’s our turn now.”

A big tree decorated with hundreds of glowing lights and red ornaments rose ahead of them. A chair stood in front of it where an old man in a Santa costume sat and made encouraging gestures at the twins.

“Ho, ho, ho!” he called out as the boys stopped on either side of him.

“Hello, Santa!” Normally bold and loud, both boys were suddenly shy when met with the judge who would decide if they were naughty or nice.

“Hello, Minami! Hello, Kenjirou!” Yuuri had filled out a form ahead of time for the actor to know what names to use. It was just his luck that he’d addressed the right twin by the right name.

The boys climbed onto his knees and both started to whisper frantically into his ear. Yuuri watched with a smile, crossing his arms over his chest. Behind him the photographer was getting ready.

“I think they’ll be alright,” someone said at his ear and Yuuri turned to see the man from before again.

“Sorry, I forgot to ask for your name,” Yuuri said, uncrossing his arms. “I’m Yuuri.”

“Ah! My name tag fell off!” the man exclaimed, staring down at his sweater in a panic and throwing a few searching glances at the floor around him. “I’m Victor,” he said after a while, meeting Yuuri’s eye once more. “Very nice to meet you.”

“Thanks for your help!”

Victor waved it off. “Happens all the time. Just part of the job.”

Yuuri sighed and looked back at the twins. “I do my best, but I probably spoil them too much.”

“I’m sure you make a wonderful parent,” Victor insisted.

Yuuri gave him a surprised look and noticed that the man had a faint blush on his face again. He wondered if the man was too warm in his thick sweater and decided not to comment. He looked back at the twins and gave a heavy sigh. “I try my best.”

“Are you alright?” Victor asked. “You look exhausted.”

Before Yuuri could answer the twins called their father over for a group photo with Santa. Giving Victor an apologetic smile, he joined them and did his best to smile happily for the cameras.

After that he paid for the photos and left, the incident seemingly forgotten.

 

Two days later Yuuri was in the same mall, trying to pick out clothes to give the twins for Christmas. They needed something new to wear to school. More than that, he needed clothes that weren’t identical, but which – in the eyes of the twins – would be equally good.

Yuuri paused at a display window and stared at the little mannequin in a pair of pants and a thick winter coat.

“Yuuri!” someone called, making him turn around.

He stared in confusion at the stranger running towards him until he finally remembered where he’d seen that face before. “Victor!”

The man laughed. “You remembered!”

“Yes, of course,” Yuuri insisted “I always remember people who were kind to me and my sons!”

Something like sadness flashed in Victor’s eyes and then he searched around. “Where are they?”

The thought of his sons brought a big smile to Yuuri’s face. Sure, they got into a lot of fights, but he loved them dearly. He wanted them to have a good childhood no matter what and he was prepared to sacrifice almost everything, if necessary. “They’re with my mother today.”

“Oh,” Victor visibly deflated at the sound of those words. “I would’ve loved to see them again! They’re such sweet children!”

“Yeah…” There was a dreamy look on his face now.

“Are you in a rush somewhere?” Victor asked.

“Sort of,” Yuuri admitted. “I’m looking for good Christmas presents for them.”

“Can I help?” Victor put a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry! You don’t want someone interfering with your shopping, do you?”

“No, no! Please, I’d love to have someone help me!” Yuuri assured him. “Buying presents is always so hard.” Was it strange? Was it just him? Yuuri waited to hear Victor say that, really, it wasn’t that hard, but Victor nodded instead.

“Of course! You want to find that perfect present, but it’s a challenge every time! Trust me, I know.”

Yuuri gave him a warm smile.

“So… so your wife isn’t helping you…” Victor’s voice faltered and faded away.

There must’ve been something in Yuuri’s face that gave away just how much pain he felt at the word “wife”, the way his heart shrivelled up in his chest and the way his chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

Wife. The woman he’d fallen in love with all those years ago and who’d walked away one cold morning.

“What’s… what’s wrong?” Victor asked.

“I’m not married,” Yuuri replied coldly. “I’m divorced. Two years. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m sorry,” Victor stammered out.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Yuuri told him. “After all, it’s not your fault.”

Victor put an arm on his. “But my words hurt you. May I… Can I buy you a drink as a way of saying sorry? I’ll help you shop after, I promise!”

Yuuri agreed and let Victor lead him away to one of the cafés in the mall where he listened to the man talk excitedly about his job over a cup of hot chocolate.

Victor was a kindergarten teacher and had no problem whatsoever with kids screaming or crying.

His chin resting in his hand as he stirred his spoon absently in his drink, Yuuri let himself forget temporarily all about his worries. He let Victor’s story and their surroundings calm him down.

“But what about you?” Victor asked at last. “What do you do?”

Ah. Yuuri felt tension build in his shoulders, but he did his best to hide it. He always hated that question. “Oh, you know,” he said, doing his best to sound nonchalant, “a boring office job. Nothing to talk about.”

Victor did his best to assure Yuuri that an office job was nothing to be ashamed of.

But in Yuuri’s mind the bills and chores rose in an accusatory tower before his eyes. “I need to go…” he said and downed the rest of his drink, doing his best to swallow it down without chocking.

Victor jumped to his feet and helped Yuuri into his coat. “Are you looking for something specific?”

Yuuri told him about clothing dilemma.

“Hmm… That is a tough one, but I have an idea.”

Feeling hopeful, Yuuri followed Victor through the mall to a store he’d never seen before. It had just what he was looking for and in no time at all Yuuri picked out everything he needed and headed for the cashier’s desk.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” he said, but Victor just dismissed the idea.

“Nothing to worry about. It’s not as if I made these clothes!” he laughed and Yuuri joined in.

The cashier rung in all the items and announced the total in a bored voice.

Yuuri pulled out his card and placed it over the card reader.

 _Card read error,_ the machine told him.

“Sorry, I… uh…” he gestured vaguely at the machine.

The cashier reset it and Yuuri tried again.

_Card read error._

This was it. The card didn’t work anymore. No, worse than that – it was getting declined. He’d surpassed the credit limit. Yuuri got a terrifying vision of the rest of his life with no credit card and no cash. He imagined the sad looks Minami and Kenjirou would give him when they got no presents and the tears that would follow. He imagined them starving, and then kicked out of their house and…

“Here, let me try it,” Victor offered.

The cashier reset the machine and Victor held the card up to it. “The trick is to hold it to the machine for the right amount of time.”

 _Payment approved,_ the machine read and Victor handed the card back.

“Thank you so much!”

Victor grinned. “It’s nothing, really!”

They walked out of the store and Victor helped Yuuri carry half the bags to the bus stop.

“I’d invite you over,” Yuuri said, “but my apartment is a mess right now. Maybe some other time? As a way of saying thank you?”

Victor was more than happy to agree and they exchanged phone numbers.

The bus came and Yuuri got on, wishing Victor a good day over his shoulder. He picked a seat by the window and waved at Victor as the bus pulled away.

There was a sad look in Victor’s eyes that made Yuuri’s heart ache.

 

Three days later Victor called him as Yuuri was making dinner.

“Hello, Victor! I’m fine. How are you?” He set his things down and went to check up on his sons as he listened to Victor talk.

They were playing with toy cars in the living room.

Yuuri leaned against the doorway and watched them as Victor talked enthusiastically about skating.

“Well? What do you think?” Victor finally asked. “Do you want to go with me? And take your sons with you, of course. I’ll bring my nephew. They’re sure to all get along!”

Yuuri thought back to a childhood spent out on the ice, skating with other boys. “I’d like that,” he agreed.

“Great! I can come pick you up tomorrow! Should we say 3 o’clock?”

They arranged all the details and Yuuri rang off, wishing Victor a good evening.

He pocketed his phone and walked over to his sons to give each of them a kiss on the forehead. That done, he returned to the kitchen.

Victor was nice and Yuuri couldn’t help the feeling that there was something guardian angel-like about him. Each time they met he rescued Yuuri. Would he do it again next time?

He realized he was humming a catchy tune and smiled. It had been so long since he was happy, truly happy. Was it possible for him to be happy again?

The next day temperatures dropped below zero, but he wouldn’t let that stop him from going outside.

Minami and Kenjirou both complained as Yuuri dressed them that they didn’t want to go anywhere.

Yuuri tied a scarf around Minami’s neck. “Victor is bringing his nephew. I’m sure he’s a very nice boy and –”

The doorbell rang, interrupting him.

“Coming!” he called and opened the door.

Victor stood, dressed in a fashionable coat and fetching scarf. There was a little boy at his side in a woolly hat. The ends of short blond hair peeked out from under it. He glared up at Yuuri. Then he glared at the twins.

“Hello, everyone!” Victor called out cheerfully. “Meet my nephew – Yuri!”

“Hello, Yuri!” Yuuri responded, doing his best to sound cheerful. He put his hands on the twins’ shoulders. “Meet my sons – Minami and Kenjirou. Boys, say hello to Yuri, please.”

“Hello, Yuri,” they droned dutifully.

“You have the same name as father!” Minami exclaimed as soon as the greetings were out of the way. “That’s not nice!” He stepped up closer to Yuri, an angry expression on his face. “Father had it first!”

“Now, now, let’s not fight over this,” Yuuri cut in. “Lots of people have the same names, you know that.”

“Yuuri is a beautiful name,” Victor added. His eye met Yuuri’s and the father felt his cheeks burn. “Lots of people would love to be named Yuuri.”

There was a short pause after those words as everyone considered what to say to that. Neither of the Yuris could argue with it and the twins weren’t sure if it was a good idea to argue either. They digested this information instead, just in case they’d need it later.

“Are you all ready to go?” Victor asked, throwing a look over everyone.

“Just let me get my gloves,” Yuuri said and turned away to rummage in one of the shelves.

 

They went to a big outdoor ice rink. Yuuri rented two pairs of skates for his sons. He had his own pair, but had never found the time or money to buy skates for his children. Both Victor and little Yuri had skates of their own but they waited in the lineup with Yuuri and the twins to keep them company.

Once everyone had a pair Yuuri helped his sons tie their shoelaces and then held their hands as they stepped out onto the uneven ice rink.

It felt good to be back on the ice. Yuuri let go of his sons, turned around and skated backwards, beckoning for them to come to him.

“How are you doing that?” Minami asked, wide-eyed. “That’s so cool!”

“Do something else, father!” Kenjirou begged. “Please?”

Yuuri looked around. There weren’t many people out on the rink with them. He could risk it.

Carefully, he moved to the emptiest area and jumped.

“Hooray!” the twins cheered and shuffled awkwardly to him. “That was so cool! Will you teach us how you did it?”

He laughed. “Sure. But you need to learn how to skate forwards first.”

Their eagerness to learn more made him forget that they hadn’t come alone and, for a while, it was just him and his sons out on the ice.

He taught them how to skate, encouraging them as best as he could.

Little Yuuri skated by with Victor and Yuuri felt a pang of guilt at the realization that he’d completely forgotten about his friend.

“Can I have a lesson too?” Victor asked.

“I’m not sure I can teach you anything…” Yuuri stammered out, seeing how easily he moved over the ice.

“What about that jump?”

Yuuri laughed, thinking Victor was just making a joke.

“It really was amazing!” Victor went on, hooking one arm around Yuuri’s. “Did you used to take lessons?”

“I did,” Yuuri admitted. “Regularly.”

“I bet it was fun!”

“It was…” Yuuri said wistfully. On the other side of the rink Minami and Kenjirou shuffled along on the ice. “I loved it.” The words escaped without thinking and he felt a stinging in his eyes.

Victor’s arm slipped out of Yuuri’s and wrapped itself around his shoulders.

“I bet you could’ve competed,” Victor said. He was probably just being nice. At least, that was what Yuuri told himself and did his best to believe. There was just no way that Victor was hurting him intentionally like that.

“I did,” Yuuri said softly, eyes still on the boys as they caught up with them.

“Oh! That’s amazing, Yuuri!”

He opened his mouth to snap at him. Because yes he _had_ competed. He hadn’t _just_ competed, either. He’d won medals. He’d represented his country. He’d –

He saw the sincere admiration in Victor’s face and closed his mouth again. He wasn’t to know. It had nothing to do with him.

“What’s wrong?” Victor asked.

“Nothing.”

Victor told him a funny story and Yuuri tried to laugh, but the mood was ruined. There was nothing he could do about it now.

“Father, I’m tired!” Minami wined, going up to him and taking his hand. “My legs hurt!”

Kenjirou joined his brother and repeated the same complaints.

“Let’s go home,” Yuuri said, putting his arms around them. “We’ll have lunch and some hot chocolate. How about that?” He raised his eyes to show that the invitation was extended to Victor and his nephew as well.

 

The boys sat in front of the TV and watched a cartoon together. Yuuri was back in the kitchen, cooking dinner and poking his head out from time to time to check up on the boys.

“Do you need any help?” Victor offered, entering the kitchen.

“No, I’m fine, really.” He cringed inwardly at how that sounded, but it was too late to take his words back now.

Victor sat down at the kitchen table. Yuuri waited for him to say something, but for some reason the man remained quiet.

For a while the only sounds in the kitchen were of the TV in the other room.

“I used to compete in figure skating.” The words came out completely on their own, as if Yuuri had no control of his mouth anymore.

He could feel Victor staring at him, but remained at the stove with his back to his guest.

“I… I competed at the international level,” he went on. For some reason now that he started to talk, it was very easy to keep going, but very hard to stop. “I was good too.” He thought of a box that lay at the bottom of the drawer, full of medals and continued to talk. “They thought I’d win gold at the next Olympics.”

“What happened?” Victor asked in a whisper as if worried he’d frighten Yuuri with his question.

Yuuri turned and gave Victor a bitter smile. “I fell in love,” he explained. “I got married and I dropped everything so I could take care of newly-born sons.” He turned away again and stared at the stove. “We were happy, but one day she just left us.”

He felt Victor’s arms wrap around him. “I’m sorry.” His voice trembled as he spoke.

Yuuri saw the tears in his eyes. “Don’t be,” he said. “My sons are the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t regret anything.” Victor’s arms tightened around him. “They’re wonderful boys, really! Don’t be fooled by their fights with each other.” Yuuri lowered his eyes. “We all make mistakes.”

Victor’s hands slid over his, caressing them gently. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a real hero?” he asked.

“No,” Yuuri said and watched Victor’s hands as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

“If you ever need anything – anything at all – you can call me at any time of day or night,” Victor told him. “I mean it. I’ll come running.” His hands slid up to rest at Yuuri’s shoulders.

“Thank you,” Yuuri whispered. “And thank you for today. I didn’t think I’d be able to skate ever again, but you brought me there and…” It was impossible to finish that thought.

“I want to see you skate again,” Victor whispered. “Let’s go again on Christmas Eve. I won’t be able to bring Yuri, but the boys will have us for company, right?”

Yuuri nodded. “Right.”

“We can skate and then come over to my place for Christmas dinner,” Victor offered.

Yuuri closed his eyes and imagined it. He pictured the ice rink empty except for them…

 

_He skated hand in hand with Victor while the twins played silly games on the ice._

_Victor slipped up behind Kenjirou and picked him up. Yuuri scooped Minami up and they all laughed as they went around in a circle on the ice._

_And afterwards, they sat under a thick blanket, the boys at the front with him and Victor behind them, watching an old Christmas movie on TV together._

_The boys fell asleep. Victor and he picked them up to take them to their beds and tuck them in for the night…_

It was a good image. Yuuri sighed. Did he dare to hope it would go like that?

“What are you thinking about?” Victor asked.

“Your invitation,” Yuuri admitted.

The sound of crying cut into their conversation, making Yuuri drop everything and run back into the living room.

The boys were crying and Yuuri crouched down, trying to work out what had happened. It wasn’t long before he managed to sort it out and restore peace once more.

After that the evening went by without a hitch.

 

There were still a few days left until Christmas. Victor walked through the streets, wondering what to buy for Yuuri. He wanted to get him something special, something that would be a truly touching and thoughtful gift, but the only ideas he could come up with seemed cliché and uninspired.

It was getting late. Yuuri was busy that evening and so Victor had to give up all hopes of meeting him that night.

The street was full of people doing last minute Christmas shopping, but Victor had mentally dismissed the whole crowd without a single thought. Only later, when it thinned out did he notice its absence.

He’d wandered out of the shopping district without realizing!

He looked around and turned to go when the sound of many people screaming at once filled the air. Panicking and convinced that someone was in trouble, Victor dashed towards the noise, not even paying attention to where he was going.

He ran into a dimly-lit room packed with people and stared around him. Loud, dull music bounced off the walls, making everything inside him shake. The air was full of the smell of alcohol. It was just a club full of drunk people!

He let out a sigh and turned to go.

“Victor!” a familiar voice called out and he turned to be greeted by the sight of a familiar face.

Chris, his friend of many years, was walking across the dancefloor with a surprised look on his face.

_He’s about to ask what a kindergarten teacher like me is doing in a place like this, isn’t he?_

He wondered if his story would sound the least bit believable, or if he should just make for the doors and pretend he hadn’t heard or seen his friend.

Just as he made his decision more screams filled the air and he turned in irritation, determined to find the source of the noise that was responsible for his awkward situation.

A man spun around on one of the poles on the stage. He was dressed in nothing but a thong, but there was an expression of great enjoyment on his face. He stopped moving and stood with his back against the pole, a smile playing on his face. Slowly, he slid down, the movement full of all kinds of suggestions.

It was getting hard to breathe.

“Victor! What is…” Chris exclaimed.

He didn’t listen. Unable to think of anything else, he walked towards the pole dancer as if drawn by a magnet. He stopped a few feet away and watched with his mouth open.

The dancer’s features weren’t easy to make out in the dim lights of the club, but something about him reminded Victor of Yuuri. Maybe it was because the man was uppermost in Victor’s mind and maybe it was because the pole dancer really did look a bit like him.

Victor felt all the blood rush to his face as he imagined the man he was falling in love with in the place of the pole dancer. He enjoyed the mental image as the dance got more and more suggestive. Victor’s imagination went one step further, putting Victor himself up there at the pole and then getting rid of the pole altogether.

“Victor!” It was Chris again. Why was he here? Why couldn’t he leave Victor to enjoy himself and this pole dance? “He’s really good,” Chris said, stating the obvious. “Do you want me to introduce you? He’s a friend of mine, so he won’t mind, I’m sure.”

Victor thought of the lonely father of two boys. No, he wasn’t going to keep chasing the seductive ones. He needed someone steady and reliable. “No, it’s okay, really –”

The music ended and the pole dancer turned and left, swinging his hips in a way that made most of the room whistle.

Chris watched Victor with a curious look on his face. “Come on. Let’s go grab a drink.”

“I need to go,” Victor began. “I have –”

“Come on, just one drink. My treat,” Chris insisted and Victor relented.

He had no energy to argue.

They found two free spots at the bar and gave the barman their order.

“So, what brings you here?” Chris asked.

Oh. Right. There was still that question. Victor fidgeted and tried to think of a suitable answer.

Someone joined them before Victor could answer and Chris turned to greet the newcomer. “I was just telling my friend I could introduce you! He really enjoyed your performance, you know! Victor, this is –”

Victor’s jaw dropped. “Yuuri!”

The man stood before him, his face a deep red. Even in a black leather vest that had a deep cut on the front and absolutely nothing under it, even with dark red lipstick and mascara around his eyes, even with a seductive air that Victor had never experience before, the father of two sweet twins was recognizable.

“You know each other?” Chris asked.

Yuuri stepped closer to Victor. “Yes. Good evening, Victor.” He caught Victor in a hug.

He felt himself shudder, all too aware that the man was mostly undressed and Yuuri really _had_ been the one pole dancing on the stage and he was that sweet and gentle man and he was… they were… Christmas…

“Are you here to save me again?” Yuuri asked in a low whisper.

“No, I think this time it’s your turn,” Victor replied, surprised he could still speak.

There was so much warmth in Yuuri’s eyes, but the blush remained on his face. “You… uh…  You’re probably wondering why I’m here…”

“Please,” Victor interrupted. “I don’t want an explanation. You being here is enough for me.”

Yuuri leaned forward and caught Victor’s mouth in a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea is a sort of AU of an AU I haven’t written yet. I don’t know if anyone remembers the fic voting from a million years ago, but one of the ideas was a single parent AU (which I still hope to write). This fic is me playing with the idea a little. I hope it’s okay for a Christmas fic!
> 
> Thank you for reading, leaving kudos and comments!
> 
> (Also - I'm not sure if this should be M rated or T rated. Any thoughts?)


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